


Wedding Planning is Hard

by KittyHowell



Series: Life is Kinda Hard [3]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Established Relationship, M/M, part three
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2019-03-24 22:51:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13821132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittyHowell/pseuds/KittyHowell
Summary: Stiles and Derek plan their wedding while dealing with school, family emergencies, and the ill feelings of Talia Hale.





	Wedding Planning is Hard

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the third installment of Life is Kinda Hard! It took forever to write and I’m not 100% with it but I’m glad it’s done! All mistakes are mine. Please feel free to give me your thoughts and correct any mistakes you see, I appreciate it.

Stiles would have been happy marrying Derek in the courthouse but both knew that option wasn’t possible. As soon as they were alone, Stiles started babbling about wedding plans. He talked about possible dates, themes, and even the types of flowers he might want. Then they laughed, happy and free together. Their giggles were muffled by the sounds coming from the party that was still going full swing deeper in the house. 

They sat on the couch, so close their shoulders touched. Stiles draped his legs over Derek’s lap and his arms around his neck. “I can’t believe you had your parents throw a party just to ask me to marry you.” 

Derek shrugged. “My parents love to throw parties. This felt right. I wanted to show them and everyone how serious I am about you. Sorry about the clothes, though. I’m not really sure why it's necessary.”

Stiles nodded, biting his lip. “No, no.” Suddenly, the clothes didn’t matter. “It feels perfect.” 

…

Stiles was excited. 

Insanely excited.

The type of excited that usually got him in trouble. He was trying to burn off extra energy without doing anything strenuous that would make him sweat. He needed to look good for this. He could see Derek chuckling at him from the corner of his eye, shaking his head as he pulled his jacket on. 

“Stiles, you’re going to have a heart attack before we get out the door,” Derek said, smoothing his hands over his fiance’s shoulders. “Calm down.” 

“I cannot calm down,” Stiles replied, actually bouncing up and down. “Your mother...your mother called me. Me, Derek! She called me to invite us to brunch today. Me! She called me!” 

“I remember,” Derek said, smiling. “I was there.” 

Stiles let out a huge, happy sigh. “Maybe...maybe she’s starting to like me. At least, well, getting used to me.” 

Derek smiled, running his fingers along the back of his fiance’s neck as he passed by to grab his keys and cell phone. He hoped that his mother was getting used to Stiles and would grow to love him like everyone else did. He still had no idea why she felt the way she did but he hoped it would all be behind them soon enough. Stiles wasn’t going anyway. 

“We’re going to be late, Derek!” Stiles practically grabbed him and shoved him out the door, locking their now shared dorm room together. 

“We have plenty of time, baby, relax.” Derek kissed his cheek softly, then took his hand as they started out to the car. “You look great, by the way.” 

“Thanks, so do you,” Stiles said, pulling at Derek’s hand at the same time he lifted his own. He stared at the matching rings and gave a happy sigh. 

After the party, Stiles had joked about being the girl of the relationship. Derek had insisted that if Stiles had asked him first, he would wear the ring but also admitted that he would like to wear a ring as well. The next day the two went to the jeweler and Stiles bought Derek a matching band to his. He even got down on one knee and asked Derek to marry him. His response had been a lot more gracious, but perfect. 

They met Derek’s parents at the country club. Stiles was getting more and more used to the place and even started to really like it. He felt weird ordering anything because he wanted to make sure he tipped well when he did. That, and the distance, made their visits few and far between in the last couple of months. 

“Son,” Reuben beamed, grabbing Derek in a hug when he saw him. He pulled away, doing the same to Stiles. “And son!” 

Talia gave each of them a kiss, directing them over to the indoor dining area for lunch. The host recognized them right away and led them to a table near the back that was a bit more secluded from the rest of the crowd. 

“So, Derek, Stiles,” Talia said, getting right to it after the waitress came and took their drink orders. “How are your classes this semester going so far?” 

“Pretty good,” Derek responded, shrugging. He always felt weird talking about school with his mom. “There's one class that I’m having trouble with but Stiles and Lydia are helping me.” 

“That’s great,” Reuben smiled. “And how about you Stiles? Enjoying the year so far?” 

“Yes, very much.” Stiles swallowed the lump in his throat. “It's all been very exciting with everything.” 

“Yes, I bet it has.” Talia smiled, “So, have you set a date yet because I was thinking something in the summer would be wonderful for you two.” 

“Uh..”

Luckily, Derek came in for the save. 

“We were thinking in the fall. It's both our favorite season.” 

“Yeah,” Stiles rubbed the back of his neck, not wanting to go against Talia but also wanting to stick by Derek and his decisions. “It might be a cliche but apples, pumpkins, and leaves are what it's all about.” 

“That will never do,” Talia said, waving her hand, “what with school and all always starting then. Summer is good. You’ll be married before the next school year then. Besides, if I have to go to one more Fall wedding I may scream. Don’t even think about incorporating any halloween costumes either. So tacky. 

“Oh, um…”

“Well, mom, we were planning on waiting,” Derek said quickly, “and we haven’t talked about any themes or colors at all.” 

“Waiting,” she questioned, her eyebrows doing the same thing Derek’s do. Except on Derek they look adorable and sexy. On Talia it's just scary. “Waiting for what?” 

“Just a couple years,” Stiles told her, taking a large sip of his drink just as the waitress set it in front of him. “We thought we’d wait until after university but that's too long for me, I think. You’re right, though, that it’ll be at the start of school, but we’re hoping all the planning will let us squeeze it in okay. Maybe...October, start of our senior year?” 

Derek beamed at the idea. “That sounds good. The honeymoon will have to wait, but, it’ll be worth it.” 

“Plenty of time to plan,” Reuben agreed, holding his drink up. 

“Oh, too much time! Why bother getting engaged if you’re not going to actively plan now? Your father and I were only engaged four months before we were married.” 

“Talia, honey, that’s because you were pregnant with Laura at the time. I don’t think that's the case here.” 

Talia glared, effectively shutting her husband up. “Two years is just a long time in my opinion.” 

Stiles didn’t think so. Wasn’t the average engagement span close to a year and a half? “Well, it's probably on the longer side but, we feel that it's best for us.” 

Talia hummed. “Well if you insist.” She sighed, placing her cupped hands under her chin. “I just hope the country club isn't doing any reconstruction then. I heard a rumor we were getting a new spa center.”

“Why would that matter?” 

“So they can have the wedding here, of course.” 

Stiles nearly spit his drink out. The waitress came back then and took their orders. With the conversation, Stiles hadn’t looked at the menu so he ordered the same thing as Derek. 

“We haven’t decided on a venue, mom,” Derek picked the conversation back up when the waitress walked away. “And this place will probably be too expensive.” 

Talia scrunched up her nose. “Derek, you know your father and I can afford it.” 

“Well, mother, I know you can afford it. We cannot.” His tone might have been a bit harsh but seriously, it wasn’t like he was ruining the evening. His mother was way ahead of him. He wasn’t even sure she knew what she was doing. 

“Oh, you’re going to plan this on a barista’s salary? Might as well just rent a junkyard.” Her tone was both amusing and condescending. 

Derek gave a heavy sigh, closing his eyes. “We’re going to leave now. Thank you for the invitation. Dad, I’m sorry.” 

Reuben waved his hand as if to say it was fine. Talia looked like Derek had smacked her across the face. When Derek stood up, Stiles was already waiting with his chair pushed in. He looked defeated and Derek wanted to wipe the tears that were forming away. 

They walked quickly but quietly out of the dining area and towards the lobby. They made it all the way to the Camero before Talia caught up with them. 

“Derek, please.”

“Stiles,” Derek said, looking at his mother a moment longer before turning towards his future husband. “Can you please wait in the car?” 

Stiles only nodded before getting into the car and pretending to be interested in whatever was on his phone. 

“I’m sorry,” Talia said, “please, come back inside. Both of you. The food will arrive soon.” 

“I’m not hungry, mom,” Derek sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “This needs to stop.” 

“I don’t know what you mean.” 

“You crushed him,” Derek practically growled at her. “All he could talk about today was how you called him instead of me to invite us here. That you were finally starting to like him. He was actually excited to come here.” 

“He’s a very nice boy…”

“He’s going to be your son-in-law.” 

Talia sighed, “Can we please talk about this later? I would very much like for the two of you to come back in.” She used her mother tone. The one she had used to control Derek and his sisters when they were kids. 

“I’m not a kid anymore,” Derek told her, and she seemed to understand why he said it. When he got into the car and pulled away, she didn't try and stop him. 

…

A month later, John had a heart attack. 

It is by the far the single most terrifying moment of Stiles life when he gets the call. It's scarier then finding out about his mother’s illness, about the treatments no longer working, and even watching her die. Stiles knew, he knew deep down that it would happen.And in the end he still had his dad. When he found out that his father had a heart attack, his first thought was “I’m going to be an orphan.” He thought for just a moment that there would be no one left to truly love him. 

As soon as he hung up the phone with Melissa, he called Derek and then Scott. The three of them immediately packed their things and headed to Beacon Hills. 

It was obvious from the look of her that Melissa had been crying, but she smiled upon seeing them and there was something in it that told Stiles his father was still alive and okay. Melissa hugged him first, then her own son, and then Derek before they started their walk into the entrance of the hospital where she had agreed to meet them. 

“I meant to call again, I’m sorry,” She said, frowning now. “The nurse that was with him   
at the time, she made an error and it was believed the heart attack was more serious than it actually was.” 

“So, did he have a heart attack?” Scott looked confused as ever. The familiarity of it tickled Stiles pink, if only for a second.

“Yes, but a relatively minor one. He’ll only have to stay a day or two before returning home but he’ll have to rest and be on desk duty for a while.” 

Stiles was silent. He was mostly happy. His father was alive and mostly okay. There were other things to worry about, though. Taking care of him had to be moved to the top of the list. He would have to drop out this semester and come back home. He was already calculating the money and making a todo list when Melissa snapped him out of it with a sharp smack to his hand. 

“I know that look in your eye, Stiles. You are not moving back here. I already spoke to your father about it and we came up with something alternative that will work out fine.” 

“What’s that?” 

“I have a friend who is working towards her masters. She was a nurse in the ER.” 

“Marion?” Scott looked even more confused. 

“Yeah, she’s very good and she can be with your father when I’m here and I can be around when she can’t. I promise you, it should only be a month or two. We were really lucky here.” 

“What if we hadn't been,” Stiles asked absently, melting into Derek when he wrapped his arm around him. “Can I see him?” 

“Of course, you and Derek should go.” 

“I thought it was family only,” Scott asked, a bit mockingly. When Scott had an asthma attack and heat stroke at the same time, Stiles had to sneak in to see him. 

“It is,” Melissa nodded her head, “John asked to see both his sons when they got here.” 

Melissa and Scott waited right outside the door while Derek and Stiles went in. John looked well. A lot better than Stiles had thought he would. They hugged desperately, and when they pulled apart, John said, “I swear to God I was eating kale when it happened.” 

They all laughed and a comfortable silence fell over them as Stiles wiped his tears away. “Melissa told me about your guys plan. Is that what you want?”

“Absolutely, kiddo.” 

Stiles nodded before getting a strange look in his eye. He looked up at Derek who raised an eyebrow in return but he said nothing. 

“Thanks for coming, Derek.” 

“Of course, John.” 

“I’m dad now to you,” John said back, smiling. “and don’t you forget it.”

Derek smiled, looking at the ground. John was too good to him. Stiles was too good for him. His own mother insulted Stiles at every turn. Suddenly he felt sick. “Do you need anything?” 

“Some good coffee would be great.” 

Derek nodded, placing his hand on Stiles shoulder before walking out so they could have their alone time. He took orders from Scott and Melissa as well, then watched with amusement as Melissa gave in, took one look around and ‘snuck’ into John’s room. 

When he was finally alone, Derek allowed himself to cry for just a moment before wiping his tears away and pulling out of the parking lot for coffee. 

…

“I think your mother might have been right?” 

“Excuse me?” 

“Not for her reasons, though,” Stiles began to clarify, frowning. “I think two years is too long to wait.” 

“Did she call you?” 

He shook his head no. “I...We were lucky, Derek. My dad...what if we hadn't been lucky? He wouldn’t have seen us get married. I don’t want to risk it.” 

Derek nodded in understanding. “He’s fine. He’s going to be fine.” 

“I know, but,” He paused, bit his lip, “can we please move the wedding up? Fall, next year. Something small with just who is important.” 

“I always wanted a small wedding,” Derek said in response. “Eleven months to plan isn’t bad. We could swing it.” 

Stiles kissed him over and over again until they were both laughing. “Ugh, now I have to call your mom.” 

“What? Why?” 

“She already hates me,” Stiles said as if it was obvious. “Can you imagine what she’ll do when she finds out we moved the plans up, started planning, and didn't tell her?” 

Derek was calling before Stiles even finished his sentence.

…

Talia was, of course, thrilled. She was extremely happy that the boys had “come to their senses”. She even asked to speak to Stiles so she could ask about how John was doing and whether or not he needed anything. Stiles wasn’t sure if it was genuine, but he appreciated the effort all the same. She gave them a checklist of things they needed to do and made them promise that they would stop by as soon as possible so she could help. 

When they hung up, Stiles said, “Blue is pretty.” 

“Hm?”

“The first thing on your mother’s list is to pick colors or a theme,” Stiles pointed to the list, which had at least fifty things Talia had deemed absolutely necessary. “I really like blue.” 

“So we’ll do blue and…” Derek trailed off, looking around the room. “Orange.” 

“Blue and orange,” Stiles questioned before his eyes fell on his shirt on the bed. “Aren’t you a sap?” 

Derek blushed, shrugging. “You were wearing that shirt the first time we met.” 

Stiles grinned, “I had a stain on it. I was so embarrassed.” 

Derek tilted his head to the side, kissing Stiles on his temple. “I didn’t notice. I was too busy being embarrassed about not being able to do my own laundry and being caught by the hot guy.” 

Stiles wrapped his arms around Derek’s neck, “Blue and orange it is.” He frowned over his fiance’s shoulder at the list in his hands. “Did your mother really insist on getting a dozen white doves and releasing them?” 

“I think it was number thirty-seven on her list.” 

“She’s gonna fight us on everything, isn’t she?” 

“Absolutely.”

Stiles groaned, but set to work on the checklist. 

…

“Your guest list is only fifty people.”

“Actually, it’s fifty-two people,” Stiles said, wiggling his eyebrows and smiling at his future mother-in-law. He decided to take a new approach and just be himself, uncensored. If she couldn’t handle that, well, at least Derek could. She hated him anyway, so why did it matter? “We felt like maybe that was too much, but couldn’t cut anyone.” 

“Too much,” Talia actually looked offended. “It’s barely anyone at all! Where are the clients? I gave Derek an entire list of our clients to invite, along with important business associates. That was at least sixty people in itself.” 

Stiles sighed. Derek wasn’t here to help him. “We both decided together that we wanted to keep our wedding small. We agreed that your list wasn’t important and so we decided that those people are not invited.” 

“Stiles, it’s very important that those people come.” 

“This is our wedding, mom, not a smooching event.” 

“You guys didn’t make the Thanksgiving or Christmas parties this past year. I was really hoping this would make up for that.” 

Stiles pressed his lips together. Both his dad and Melissa were stuck at work both holidays this past year. The Hales had, as Stiles called them, smooching parties for both, due to new big clients. After the last holiday with them, Stiles wanted nothing more than to avoid the parties. Stiles and Derek had stayed on campus, citing they had too much work to come home. In support, their entire group of friends did as well. 

“I wasn’t aware so much butt kissing could be done in such little time.” It came out with more bite than he originally intended, but Stiles honestly didn’t care. 

Talia looked like she was about to respond, but Derek and John entered the room at that point and she stopped. Stiles grinned. She knew Derek would always take his side. He hated that it had come to this, but he was happy that she knew where the line was when it came to Derek. 

“I think that’s a lovely idea,” John was saying to Derek. “I’ve seen that chapel and it’s beautiful. It’s a great place to hold a wedding.”

“Chapel,” Talia cut in, “what chapel?” 

“Chapel in the Hills,” Stiles responded without looking at her. He knew where she was going. 

“Are you sure you won’t reconsider the club?”

“Too expensive,” Stiles mumbled under his breath.

“We’ll pay.” 

“No,” Derek shook his head, “you both contributed a little bit of money and we appreciate it, but we want to pay for this ourselves. It’s why I got a job.” 

“Ugh, yes,” Talia rolled her eyes. “Grooming animals at some animal clinic. I wish you would have taken the job at the club.” 

This time, Derek rolled his eyes. “Well I thought about it mom but the vet is close to school.” He had thought about it. It would have been good money, but, like he said, far from school. He also would have had to see his mom all the time and right now he just couldn’t handle it. He also really liked his job at the clinic. He got to spend a lot of time with animals, and the clinic was great with shifts surrounding his classes. He even got to spend time with Scott. The two had been going over wedding ideas when they were alone. 

“I still think you should have taken it.” 

“I'm sorry you feel that way, mother.” 

Stiles realized where the conversation was going and quickly changed the subject. He told Derek that this time they wouldn't be running out on his parents. “So, Derek and I had agreed on alternative centerpieces since flowers aren’t something either of us are stuck on.” 

“Stiles had a wonderful idea to use pumpkins,” Derek began, “and then saw an idea to use Jack O Lanterns.” 

“And Derek asked if it was possible to use personalized ones, so I asked my friend Lydia and she came up with this.” He pulled the centerpiece from the bag at his feet and placed it on the table. 

“Oh, hey, I like that,” Peter said from his spot by the window, turning around for the first time since they started. Stiles wasn’t really sure why he was there to begin with but didn't say anything. 

“Did your friend make that,” Reuben picked it up carefully and turned it in his hand. Lydia had gotten the pumpkin from a craft store, then created a personalized design and spray painted it onto the pumpkin. This one had both their names in fancy writing and a glitter bow around the stem. 

“Yeah, she's kinda crafty.” 

“She offered to make them for us for free. She's got a lot of nice ideas.” 

“It looks like it came from Pinterest.” Talia said flatly. 

“I think it rocks,” Cora said, taking it from her father’s hand. “It looks so real. Can she make one that says ‘Team Sterek’ for our table?” 

Stiles laughed, “I’m sure she could.” 

“Okay,” John said, marking centerpieces off the todo list Talia had handed out to everyone as they entered the door. He looked over the list with a loud sigh. “What about a theme? I know you’re doing the fall thing, but are there colors?” 

“Orange and blue,” Scott said grinning. “It was the color of the shirt Stiles was wearing when they first met. Now they both wear it.” 

“I don’t think that shirt looks like it would fit you son,” John said dryly, eyeing Derek with a smirk. 

“It doesn’t.” 

“I’m not sure…” Talia started to say, “I’m not sure those colors go very well together.” 

“I think they’ll be fine, sister,” Peter interrupted, “as long as it's a darker blue. My opinion, of course.” 

“I agree,” Stiles grinned up at him, suddenly happy he was there. However, when Peter grinned back, Stiles quickly turned away. There was something about him that just creeped him out. “We’re doing a navy blue with the orange.” 

“Lovely,” Talia said dryly, then checked it off her list. “Okay, we had a goal for today and that was to check off at least five things from this list. We’ve done three, four if you have the reception picked out.” 

“We put the deposit down for the chapel and the smaller event room at the hotel right down the block.” 

“If you did it at the club, people wouldn’t have to drive to a second location.” 

Derek nodded, “And we thought about that, mom, but paying for both the chapel and the event room is a third of what the club would cost.” 

“But the club could also do the catering.” 

“And that adds to the bill,” Stiles told her. “We did the math. It's just better this way. We are going to use the catering at the club though. They’re giving us a discount.” 

“They’d give you a discount on everything.” 

“Still too expensive. But I did fall in love with the chicken marsala dish they have there, so we wanted to spring for this.” 

“Oh, so you guys picked out a menu already,” Reuben asked. 

“No, just that dish,” Derek shook his head. “We were going to be sampling some more stuff there next week on the eightieth. We actually haven't experienced much of their food.” 

“Oh, and the cake tasting is next month, on the fifth,” Stiles cut in. “Everyone who wants to come is more than welcome to.” 

“That's kind of you, Stiles,” Reuben said, placing his hand on Stiles' shoulder. “I believe I’m busy on the fifth but I can come by the club next week. What time?” 

“Two.” 

“Sounds good, Peter and I will be there. What about you honey?” 

A strange look crossed over Talia’s face before she shook her head. “No, not next week. I have an appointment. But the cake tasting...please just send me details.” 

“No problem,” Stiles smiled, then turned to his father and Scott. “What about you guys?” 

“I’ll be on duty, I believe.” 

“Class and stuff,” Scott shrugged but looked disappointed. “But no worries, Isaac and I are gonna work on your invitations next week. He already came up with a nice design and Jackson and I are helping Lydia and Allison make the centerpieces when the time comes. I’ll, uh, let Lydia know about your request Cora.” 

Cora gave a thumbs up from her spot in the corner, never pulling her headphone from her ear. 

“Alright,” Talia said, pushing herself away from the table, “I think that’s good enough for now. Is it possible for everyone to meet again eventually?” 

“Just text everyone the details and we can arrange our schedules,” John said, shaking Ruben's hand, then Peter’s who gave him a half hug. He reached out his hand to shake Talia’s. She didn’t even hesitate to shake it. It hurt Stiles’ feeling a little. Talia always seemed to flinch a little when coming into contact with Stiles, but for whatever reason, had no problem with his dad. He was also incredibly grateful for it. He wasn’t sure what he would do if his father was treated poorly. 

“We should head home,” Derek said, pressing his hand gently and to his fiancé’s shoulder. “You look tired, babe.” 

Stiles looked up at him and beamed. He’s not really sure how he got this lucky. 

…

The weeks that followed flew by quickly and without incident. They sampled different dishes with Peter and Reuben the next week at the club and made a simple menu of the chicken masala, honey garlic glazed salmon, and vegetarian fajitas. Stiles and Derek both threw themselves into their work and schooling during the day and came together at night to spend time together. Once a week, they had an outing with their friends. They tried to keep the conversation going onto other things, but it always seemed like all everyone wanted to talk about was the wedding. 

When it came time to the cake tasting, Derek and Stiles were supposed to go together but Derek got caught up at work and was suppose to meet him there as soon as possible. Stiles tried to go with Erica, but Boyd burned his arm during a mishap in the chemistry class. Stiles almost canceled the whole tasting but Boyd had convinced him not to, citing the injury was not that bad. Erica was just overly worried because she loved him. 

John was caught up in paperwork. Scott and Isaac were in class. Allison was visiting family in Oregon, and Lydia went with Erica to the hospital so she wouldn’t be alone, dragging Jackson with her. Stiles was actually thankful for this. Reuben and Peter were caught up in a business meeting and Laura and Cora were in the middle of a spa treatment. When Melissa told him she couldn’t leave the hospital, Stiles was left with the horror of knowing it was just going to be him and Talia. 

Despite his ill feelings, he texted her to let her know he was leaving for the cake shop. He groaned internally when she replied that she was already halfway there and he should hurry if he wanted to make their appointment on time. Their appointment. Stiles actually huffed. Looking up at the sky, he mumbled, “you and I are going to have some serious words about this later,” before he jumped in his jeep. 

Talia was there before him, naturally. She was waiting in the front for him, posed and perfect. Her look was always polished down to the last detail. Stiles was wearing sweatpants and flannel. He wondered if she would mind. As soon as he stepped out of the car, she frowned. Stiles instantly groaned and didn’t bother to hide it. 

“That is a hideous car,” Talia said, looking it over with disgust. 

“Don’t talk about Roscoe like that,” he snapped before he could stop himself. She looked taken back, almost insulted. Stiles sighed, reminding himself that this was still his soon to be mother-in-law. The woman who gave birth and raised the man he loved. “Roscoe was my mother’s.” He wondered, briefly, if she’d even remember that his mother had past. The question left him quickly, noting the pained look on Talia’s face. 

“Well that explains it.” 

It did explain it, but somehow, Stiles didn’t feel like she meant it that way. At his raised eyebrow, she continued. “The color.” 

Stiles rolled his eyes and moved past her into the cake shop. It was a smaller place, nothing too fancy but still nicely kept. They had a lot of different flavors to choose from. Together, Stiles and Derek had picked out some samples for them to make for the meeting. Stiles liked more interesting flavors, but Derek’s all time favorite was red velvet. He decided to keep that in mind. 

“Hello, I’m Nancy, and you must be Stiles,” a cheerful and youthful looking woman came from behind the counter to shake his hand. She gave Talia a sideways glance. “But I’m guessing you’re not Derek.” 

“I’m his mother.” 

“Pleasure,” she shook Talia’s hand as well and led them to a table off to the side where no one would bother them. “I’ll be right back with your sample tray.” 

“This is...cozy.” 

“I love cozy.” He checked his phone to see if there was anything from Derek and was left disappointed to see that there was but it wasn’t good news. “Derek is still caught up at work. He says to pick the cake without him.” 

They both remained silent until Nancy came back out. On her tray were ten different combinations to try. 

“These combinations are not set in stone. Obviously if you end up liking the chocolate mousse inside the strawberry cake with mocha buttercream, we can make it that way.” 

Together, Talia and Stiles tasted each sample. They shared looks, shrugged shoulders, even moaned in appreciation. Nancy smiled her whole way through, asking questions and taking notes. 

“My son really likes red velvet,” Talia told her when they were finished, “and I really quite liked the one you made. What do you think, Stiles?” 

“Derek will love it,” Stiles agreed, “and I was thinking of adding a little funk to it. What do you think about that, Talia?” 

Nancy scribbled notes. 

“Personally I always enjoyed the traditional cream cheese frosting with red velvet, but that one frosting was to die for.” 

“The white chocolate,” Nancy supplied helpfully, smiling. “You both lit up at that one. Is that what you want, Stiles?” 

He thought about it a moment and tried to imagine what those flavors would have tasted like together, then nodded. “What filling should we do?” 

“....Marshmallow fluff?” 

Stiles was shocked by Talia’s suggestion, but nodded. “Yes, definitely. That sounds delicious. Do you think you guys can whip up one to try so we can make the final decision. I hope Derek likes it.” 

“I’m sure he will,” Talia said, surprising him again. “It sounds...delicious.” She clapped her hands together. “Well I believe I can cross this off the list.” 

…

“...I’m sorry, what?”

“Your mother has been replaced by an alien.” 

Derek just stared at Stiles in anticipation. What he was anticipating, he had no idea. Stiles just kept staring back. “Did something happen?”

“Yeah.” Stiles said, his eyes getting wide, then narrowing. “She agreed with me.” 

“She may have been replaced with an alien.” 

“Ugh, I’m still so frustrated with all of this, Derek,” Stiles whined. “And all I want to do is enjoying planning my life with you.” 

“So enjoy it,” Derek said softly, pulling Stiles into his lap. He kissed his lips, then each cheek, his forehead, and then finally nuzzled into his neck. “Forget about my mom. I’ll do better at keeping her in check, I promise.” 

Stiles kissed Derek’s ear, “You’ve been amazing, babe. None of this is your fault.” He inched his hand up Derek’s shirt, ticking the skin underneath. “Actually you’ve been so amazing that I think you deserve a little reward…”

…

Derek and Stiles had agreed to keep things simple so even with work and school, they were handling all the wedding plans well. It was March, seven months before the wedding, and most of the big stuff was done. It certainly helped that they had their friends and family for support. 

Scott and Isaac had finished and sent out the invitation after getting the approval of the happy couple. Lydia and Allison did most of the decorating. Cora was into photography and practically begged to be their photographer. Derek had been hesitate, only because he wasn’t sure what Stiles wanted and didn’t want to cause any drama. But Stiles had only laughed happily and agreed with a grin. 

In addition, Erica knew a great DJ for the reception and John had gotten the same officiant who’d done his wedding to Claudia. Laura, Melissa, and surprisingly Peter had helped with the bridesmaids flowers. Derek’s parents had volunteered to help put together the gifts for the table that Lydia absolutely refused to share what they were with anyone else. And finally, Boyd had become an unofficial planner. He kept everyone on track, knew every detail, time and date, and anything else anyone could question. If the man kept a small notebook with him, no one mentioned it. 

Everything was basically set, which is exactly what they needed. Classes were going to be starting just weeks before the wedding and it was important for everyone that everybody kept their grades up. 

When Lydia found out that Stiles and Derek were dragging their heels on getting their tuxes, she put her foot down. When she found out no one had even thought about what they were wearing, she was appalled and forced everyone in the party to clear their schedules. 

Both Stiles and Derek had shrugged when they were asked what the women in the party should wear. “Whatever you want?” 

“So if I just show up in my birthday suit, that’s okay with you, Stiles,” Lydia had mocked, frowning when Reuben had to elbow Peter when he opened his mouth. 

“Okay,” Stiles said, looking at Derek for help. He only shrugged again. “You, Laura, and Erica are the only girls in the party, right? And you’re on opposite side of them but you’ll take pictures together and...well Laura is like four inches taller than you and Erica is taller. If you wear short dresses, they’ll look uneven in pictures, right?” 

Lydia paused, pretending to think. Eventually she broke out into a huge grin. “Stiles I taught you well! If we wear short dresses, they’ll have to be tailored so the hem is the same. You are so right.” 

“Long might be better. We never know what the weather will be like,” Laura pitched in and Lydia nodded. 

“What about something like this,” Erica held up her phone and Derek took it from her to see. 

“I like them,” is all he said, and that was good enough for Stiles. 

Lydia took the phone and looked through the pictures. They were blue, long with medium length lace sleeves. The neckline was princess and the back was opened in the shape of a heart in the middle of the back. 

“It’s lovely,” Lydia agreed, passing the phone to Laura. “The shop is local, good catch Erica. Amazing taste. We can go, what, Saturday? And shoes too. We’ll take care of it.” 

After it was agreed upon, Lydia turned to Boyd and said, “I expect you to take care of...them.” She pointed to Isaac and Scott, who were also in the party, along with Boyd himself. 

A nod was all she needed to be satisfied. 

“Now, I made you both an appointment to get fitted for your tuxes. Together. As you requested, Derek. I made sure your parents were free to go to.” At Stiles’ small wince, Derek squeezed his hand and Lydia placed hers on his shoulder. 

…

A month later, Stiles and Derek were measured together, side by side. 

Stiles could tell John was getting a little emotional and Stiles wanted nothing more than to get done and hug him. He was feeling antsy as it was from having to stay still so long. Just as he was about to get down, John cleared his throat and said, “Our boys sure look handsome, don’t they?” 

Talia smiled, placed her hand on John’s arm and said, “They sure do.” 

Stiles visibly relaxed. 

…

Time flew and suddenly it was only two months before the wedding. Everything was going well until the country club called and said they might need to drop their reservation for catering their event. 

“What,” Stiles practically screamed in the phone. “We booked you over six months ago! You cannot do this!”

Derek could hear the other person speaking but couldn’t make out any of the words. 

“I don’t give a flying fuck what someone else wants to book. They can’t book your catering because we did, again, over six months ago!” 

The person said something else and in anger, Stiles hung up the phone. He must have been yelling pretty loud because Derek’s entire family came into the room to see what was going on. 

“Babe, it’s going to be okay,” Derek said, kissing Stiles softly several times. Stiles melted in to him. “We will figure it out.” 

“That stuff books in advance. We only have two months!” Stiles shook his head, determined not to cry. 

“What’s going on?” 

It was Peter who finally spoke. 

“The country club called and they’re saying they may drop us to make way for a couple who’s using the club for everything.” 

“They can’t do that,” Cora yelled angrily. 

“We’ll take care of it,” Derek sighed, “but I’m going to be late for work if we don’t leave now.” 

“Derek, you go to work,” Talia said, smoothing out her dress, “Stiles and I will go to the club and speak to the manager. Now.” She looked up at them with ice in her eyes. “No one messes with my baby’s wedding.” 

…

Stiles had never seen Talia this way. She was a hurricane from the moment she got out of the car at the club. She slammed the door and then stormed through the parking lot, ignoring everyone who tried to talk to her. She threw the doors open, gaining the attention of everyone in the lobby. 

Stiles was frightened. 

And impressed. 

Mostly frightened. 

She stormed through the building with Stiles on her heels. Even with her choice of footwear, it was hard to keep up with her. She didn’t bother to knock when they made it to the manager's office. Stiles’ eyes were directly on her when they stepped in, which is the only reason he caught the slight twitch of her mouth, the flicker of something unusual in her eye before she was back to ice. 

“Mr. Morrison, we have to talk. Immediately.” 

“I’m in a meeting at the moment,” the man said back, grinding his teeth. There were people in the room, sitting in chairs around his desk. Stiles could tell it was for a wedding, as a young couple was sat directly in front of the desk while their parents were a little further back. He recognized the groom. 

“Your meeting is over,” Talia said, motioning towards the door, clearing intending for everyone to leave.

“Just the same as you always were,” a man, who Stiles assumed was the bride’s father, spoke from where he sat. He looked up at Talia with a smirk. “Just another hothead princess.” 

Talia stilled for only a second before she leaned over her hands on the side of Mr. Morrison's desk and turned to look at him. “You seem to have forgotten what my husband and I do for a living, Mr. Morrison. Let me refresh your memory. We’re lawyers. We sue people. Let me also remind you of this: we have a signed contract for your catering service and if you try to back down, I will bury you. Not only that, but I can assure you that my husband and I will stop doing business here. All those clients here, spending money, gone.” 

Morrison only took five seconds to crack. He apologized profusely to Talia, then to Stiles. Stiles got the impression that it was the first time the man even noticed him. Finally he apologized to the family in front of him for wasting their time. 

“Unless we change the date of your wedding, we can unfortunately not cater to your event. You are, however, welcome to have the ceremony and reception here. We will allow outside catering under this circumstance.” 

The man who had spoken before stood up abruptly. “I think we’ll just take our business elsewhere then if you’d prefer hers over ours.” 

“Again, I apologize…” 

When he turned to leave the room, he stepped into Talia’s space. It instantly put Stiles on edge. 

“As usual, your connections are the only thing you’re good for.” He raised his hand and jabbed her in the chest. 

Stiles isn’t sure what got into him, but the next thing he knew, he was standing between his future mother in law and the man. His hand was throbbing and the man was holding his cheek. 

“Daddy!” 

“Harold!” 

The groom stepped forward but one look from Talia and Stiles kept him in place. 

“You do not have to right to raise your hand to her or speak to her that way. Talia...Talia is amazing. She’s good for a lot of things and most importantly, she’s my mom. Don’t talk about her that way.” Stiles paused, nostrils flared. “If you ever so much as look at her again, I’ll make sure Hell rains down on you, and I’m very good at making Hell rain.” 

Harold looked like he was going to say something but at the last minute decided against it. He headed for the door, the rest of the family behind him. 

“Oh, and Dennis,” Stiles called out, gaining the attention of the groom. Everyone stopped. “Isaac told me all about your guys hook up last month. By the way, he still has the pictures.” 

Dennis instantly went pale and then ran out of the room. Shocked, the families followed. The bride took off in a sprint, calling his name. 

Silence filled the room. 

“Again, I’m-“

“Oh, fuck off,” Talia snapped before storming out just as furious as she had come in. 

Stiles went out after her, but she disappeared in the crowd. When he finally found her, she was sitting alone in a secluded part of the garden, crying. 

He sat next to her when she didn’t make him go away. He just sat and waited until she wiped her eyes and finally spoke. 

“I dated Harold before Reuben.” 

“Rueben is the much better choice.” 

Talia gave a little laugh. “We all went to college together. I grew up middle class, though I’m sure Derek told you that. I worked in college, part time, but my parents still helped. I had a scholarship, too.” 

Stiles knew all this, so he just nodded. 

“Harold comes from a low class family but that didn’t matter. He was sweet, or, I thought he was.” She laughed. “We dated for eight months and I, for a little while, I thought he was it. There was this...this internship he wanted and it just so happened that the coordinator was a family friend. Went to college with my mom. Well, he worked me over for it and the day after he signed the contract, I found him in bed with Cindy. That internship started his career.” 

Stiles clenched his fists, wishing he’d hit the guy harder. 

“It’s stupid,” Talia insisted, wiping her tears away again. There was a long pause between them. Finally, she turned towards him and grabbed both his hands. “Stiles, you must know that...I don’t dislike you. Actually I think you’re a great guy and you make my son very happy. You honestly don’t know what that means to me.” 

Stiles squeezed her hands and smiled. “I love your son with all of my heart.” 

Talia nodded, new tears coming to her eyes. “It hurts, sometimes. The memory of being told that I was worthless, unlovable. That my connections were the only reason he wanted me at all. I don’t want my children to ever feel this pain and...I worry. Maybe I have worried too much about Derek since you two got together.” 

“I would rather kill myself that hurt Derek,” Stiles told her. 

She nodded again before pulling him into a hug. “I hope you can forgive me,” she said into his shoulder and then, in a whisper, “thanks for calling me your mom.” 

Stiles laughed. “Well it’s true. You are. You’re the only mom that I have. Melissa is like a mom but she’s not...she’s always going to be my best friend’s mom, ya know? But you’re my mom and I want to have that relationship with you.” 

“I want that, too.” 

“Thanks for saving our wedding.” 

She pulled back, smiling. “No one messes with my baby’s day.” She gave his cheek a little pinch and then stood up. “Well, I feel like I’ve embarrassed myself enough today. Let’s go home.” 

“Nah,” Stiles smiled, linking their arms. “Lets go get some ice cream.” 

…

The wedding is beautiful. 

The day goes off without a hitch, thanks to the love and support of their families. And especially Boyd, who ran the ceremony like a well oiled machine and even cued everyone down the aisle. 

The chapel is decorated in blue and orange, the shades just right to mix well together. Stiles felt the tears come the moment he saw it. The vows were short and to the point but by the time they finished, even Peter was crying a little on his seat. 

When Stiles and Derek kissed, the room exploded with happiness and Stiles knew from the bottom of his heart that Derek was his home. 

At the reception, Talia stood to make a speech.“I don’t want this to be long because I will cry. I just want to say that I am thankful to have Stiles and his family in ours. At first, I will admit that I thought I was losing my son. I was worried about him like all moms worry about their babies. But I realized as time passed that I didn’t lose my son. I gained one instead. I love you both. I will support you in everything you do. Thank you, Stiles, for making my son happy.” 

Stiles openly balled as he hugged her before turning back to his husband. Derek was pretending not to cry while his dad gripped both his shoulders, a huge smile on the older man’s face. Stiles wrapped both hands around Derek’s face and kissed him gently. 

“To Team Sterek!”


End file.
